Our Sports Reporter
GUWAHATI: Rode on a brilliant century from captain Denish Das, Assam scored 264-6 in their first innings against Chhattisgarh on day I of the Ranji Trophy tie at Raipur on Wednesday. It was the second consecutive century for Denish in this season.
Invited to bat, Assam struggled in the morning and lost opener Rishav Das (13) and Ruhinanda Pegu (2) quickly. Rishav hit two boundaries in his brief knock and it took his number of boundaries in first class cricket to 400.
Captain Denish Das started to repair the damage and he got good support from other opener Parvez Musaraf (42, 4X7). The duo added 72 runs on the third wicket. Later Denish also made a crucial partnership with Sumit Ghadigaonkar adding 75 runs on the fifth-wicket.
Although Assam lost wicket on a regular interval, Denish looked rock solid in the middle and took full responsibility of the team on his shoulder. The batter today faced 178 balls to score 104 with the help of 15 boundaries.
Sumit Ghadigaonkar, who is also in good touch this season, continued his good form today and remained not out on 54 (4X5). He was well-supported by Mukhtar Hussain, who also remained unbeaten at the other end on 20. The unbroken partnership added 44 runs on the seventh-wicket.
However Assam’s middle-order woes continued as key batters failed to make significant contributions on Day 1. Ruhinandan Pegu (2), Sibsankar Roy (13) and Sarupam Purkayastha (5) all struggled to build any meaningful partnerships or spend enough time at the crease.
Among the bowlers of Chhattisgarh Ravi Kiran ( 3-48) came out with best figure on the first day.
Also Read: Ranji Trophy: Denish Das leads Assam’s strong reply to Tamil Nadu at ACA Stadium
Also Watch: